1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to test fixtures and electrical connectors or circuit cards.
2. Description of the Related Art
Testing of high-volume circuit card assemblies (CCAs) typically involves applying power to a CCA via spring contact pins or other traditional connectors. For high-current applications, however, spring contact pins have limitations, such as low contact pressure, which results in small localized areas of intermetallic contact at the interface between a power connector and a CCA terminal interface. The high current delivered over the small contact area creates localized joule heating at the intermetallic spot contacts. This introduces a risk of a power connector welding itself to a CCA terminal interface during testing. In addition, spring pins apply a spring force, which may result in deformation of a circuit board or printed wire board. Such deformation or flexure may cause damage to components or circuits on the CCA.
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that improvements in high-current contacts would be desirable.